Let's Play A Game
by LostInTheDreams
Summary: WARNING! CROSSOVER WITH SAW! Chained together with lives hanging in the balance, both Conan and Kaito much fight one another to keep themselves and the ones they love alive while treading a fine line of a very dangerous game. MATURE WARNING FOR VIOLENCE
1. Who Your Friends Are

**You MUST READ THIS!**

***ATTENTION: This IS a crossover with SAW, as in SAW the blood-and-guts-death movie. I've only seen the last one but this idea came from it. IT DOES CONTAIN VIOLENT GRAPHIC IMAGERY! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!***

_Now... I've had this written for about a year and see NO POINT in making it if no one is interested. I'm am posting this first part of it to see if there are enough people who are. I WILL continue *slowly* to write it if that's the case. If not, I'm dropping it.  
><em>No spell checker as I'm still seeing if anyone is interested.  
>*Has some problems with thrid person at the end. Sorry*<p>

Thank you for your time.

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><p><em><strong>Let's Play A Game<strong>_

_Chapter 1: Who You're Friends Are_

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**...**

_Let's play a game_.

Shinichi opened his eyes slowly, his head filled with a familiar fog. _I've been knocked out with gas, _he thought, blinking back the drug-induced sleep.

"Nice to see you're awake."

As things came into focus, Shinichi noticed two things. One, he was handcuffed. Had been so for a while since the temperature of the metal was that of his skin. The second thing he noticed was he was handcuffed to a teenager who looked eerily like himself.

Said teen currently looked like there were spiders crawling over his skin, twitching in every direction he could find and moving any part of his body that wouldn't jar Shinichi out of sleep.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. Who are you?" Shinichi put an admittedly small hand to his head, making sure his wasn't hurt.

"It _is_ a bad thing. How far out of Japan does your knowledge reach?" The teen furiously glanced around again as if expecting things to have changed. Shinichi took in the fact that, not only were they chained together, but they were in an iron room with boarded up and barred windows. In front of them sat a doll, rather hideous if Shinichi had anything to say about it.

"If it's important, I know it."

The teen laughed. "I guess you know what's going on then?"

Shinichi frowned, trying to figure something out. Anything. The last thing he remembered had been walking home from school with the other kids.

_Let's play a game._

The words were said again and this time Shinichi could understand them. They came for the doll and sounded like any other voice disguising device.

"What's going on?"

"You _don't_ want to know?" The other teen looked down and shook. Shinichi easily recognized it as unbridled fear.

_Both of you may be keeping your lives secret from the world, but not from me. Love may not be a drug but it's just as good as one. Love hurt. Love kills. Today, both are you are using love as a poison and I'm going to test you on how far you're willing to take is. Is love worth it? Or are you all that you claim to be? Liars._

There was a hiss of static as the voice cut off. Shinichi searched for some explanation as to what was going on and the only one he could find was the shaking boy next to him.

"What is all this? Where are we?"

"It's a game." The words came out hushed. "I'm not sure where we are. It doesn't matter. We're gonna die. We're all gonna die." The boy covered his head with his hands and let out a laugh that unnerved the small boy next to him. "I can't even get the cuffs off."

That was a weird statement. It was as if he expected to be able to take them off. Shinichi was no fool around picking a lock himself either. He stared down at the metal shackles and realized what had unnerved the other. There was plastic explosive in it. Any shock could make set the cuffs off and severely injure them.

_First, as both of you can lie to those closest to you and yet not you're closest friends, let's see if they are equally as willing to put up with you._

The door in front of them opened. Shinichi could see the mechanism that unlocked and released the slab of metal from where he was sitting.

_You have thirty minutes. _

The teen next to him cringed away. "What if we don't want to play?"

_As someone like me yet so unlike me, you know that there is no way out of one of my games. The seconds are ticking away. I wouldn't waste them. _

The voice came and went. The doll in front of them obviously had to have some listening device on it as well.

The teen got up before Shinichi was ready and pulled him to a standing position along with him.

"Hurry. I may not want to play, but like he said, he won't stop it. If they die, I want to know it was because I wasn't good enough, not because I was scared."

"Wait. Please explain to me what's going on."

The teen walked out, dragging Shinichi along with him.

"He's a killer. I can't believe I let him catch me. No matter what, he always thinks he's right. He takes people who _aren't in the right_ and tests them. If they're lucky, they get out of these games with only a missing limb while their opponent dies. I'm surprised you haven't heard of him."

"I take it he's foreign then." Shinichi didn't recall ever hearing of someone like that. "He's never met anyone like me before. We'll be fine."

The teen didn't seem reassured, not that Shinichi could blame him. He did look like an eight year old child after all. The bare hallways made of steel only helped this killer's atmosphere. Shinichi ignored it all. He wasn't going to let his mind be messed with.

A door at the end of the hall had _Learn to love yourself_ painted across it with red paint. Shinichi stared up at the boy, but when he wasn't willing to open the door, Shinichi did it himself.

Inside he saw Hattori, barely conscious, his hands chained above his head with something large attached to the same chain near the ceiling of the room.

"Hattori!"

"Don't move!" the teen next to him shouted at Hattori as he stirred. The metal contraption Hattori was attached to started to open as he tried to pull his arms down. At the other teen's warning, Hattori stopped.

"Hakuba-kun, don't move either!"

Shinichi took the time to notice that Hakuba was there as well and in the same situation. The only difference was that the Brit seemed far more awake than the Osakan.

"You're warnings fall short." Hakuba's light laughter echoed around the room as he looked at the teen beside Shinichi. When their eyes met it seemed as if they knew one another. Shinichi spotted a large burn mark that has seared away Hakuba's coat sleeve and his skin underneath. The wound looked nasty.

"Sorry." The teen next to him shook his head. "I should have been faster."

"What's goin' on?" Hattori was awake now, taking in the situation as Shinichi had. "Where am I?"

_Good morning to those gathered here. I realize now that some of you may not realize what it is you have done. To die nieve is unforgivable. My games are meant to show how important life is. Now, you will have to choose not only how important you feel your friends are, but how important you feel your commitments are. Above your friends is toxic acid. If they move, the closed door will open, releasing the acid. As close as they are to one another, they have the opportunity to fight one another for their life. Or let the choice rest with the two of you._

Hakuba took his glance away from Hattori and focused solely on the teen next to Shinichi. "Kuroba-kun, I'm aware of what's going on. I'd heard about this man in London from a colleague of mine. He's dangerous. I'll leave this up to you."

Hattori still seemed confused. "Wait. Who's dangerous? What's he talkin' about?"

_Because physical talents are compromised, I've left this up to a game of wits. On either side of the platforms that your friends are resting on is a difficult puzzle of numbers. Figure it out and it will reveal to you a four digit code that will release one while sealing the fate of the other. You must choose whose life is more important. If neither is solved in the twenty two minutes remaining, both will die. The game has already started._

Shinichi spotted what looked like a Sodoku puzzle in front of them once they'd stepped up. He was naturally right handed and wondered if the teen was as well. This seemed irrelevant as the other boy took a pen from the floor nearby and started on the solution with his left hand.

"Hey wait. Does that mean whoever gets the answer first will kill the other person?"

The teen nodded, continuing to work it out anyways. Shinichi pulled on the cuffs to try and get him to stop. "We can't do that! There has to be another way!"

"There isn't. I'm sorry Conan-kun, I can't let Hakuba-kun die."

Shinichi took a few moments to see how serious the teen was. There was no humor at all in his face that seemed naturally light-hearted. Shinichi took up his own pen in a shaking hand. He didn't know if it was better to kill one person than another. Either way, if one of them was going to die, he didn't want it to be Hattori. He didn't want it to be Hakuba either, but there didn't seem to be any time to think about that.

"We're gonna die?"

"Only one of us." Hakuba turned to the Osakan while the other two did calculations as fast as they could. Hakuba had to figure Kuroba would get it first because he'd had a head start. A dirty trick, but Hakuba had a hard time fighting it at that moment. If Kuroba really wanted to play dirty, he could have knocked Conan out. "Painfully by the looks of it."

Hattori stared at the latch above him. "Acid huh? _Sounds_ painful."

"It is. I've a testament to that." Hakuba had burned his shoulder a minute or so before Kuroba had come in with the boy. He hadn't known not to pull, though it was just a testing tug at the time. The acid that fell burned more than Hakuba had ever remembered anything burning him before, or even hurting for that matter.

"I don't wanna die."

The blond glanced over at Hattori as he spoke. The Osakan had only just woken up and didn't seem to know who it was that was playing them. Hakuba himself had only a vague description of a man who enjoyed torture games with his victims before killing them.

"I don't either."

Hattori laughed. "Pretty bad last words for one of us. Should say somethin' cool but I can't think of anythin' right now."

"Me neither."

They both waited while their fates were decided by the only two people either of them could remember being as close to before then. Neither had had an intellectual match to themselves before.

"However this ends, I guess I'm never gonna see ya again." Hattori winked at him, totally inappropriate in their current situation. "So I guess this is goodbye, ya stuck up prick."

"Goodbye as well, you hot-blooded beast."

They smiled at one another but Hakuba knew his own was more desperate than he would have liked. Hattori's eyes shining back at him spoke of similar fear and more than a little confusion.

"Got it," Kaito said shakily, dropping the pen. "Sixteen, fifty two."

There was an audible click and Saguru felt as his arms were released. He quickly drew them in towards himself, looking around for anything to stop this. Hattori watched him, turning and closing his eyes, teeth bared and something close to a whimper escaping.

"I'm so sorry," Saguru pleading, getting off the the higher part of the floor he was on and heading towards the other two. There was another sound, not the same click. This one was much louder because there was weight behind it and the lock was bigger. Saguru didn't turn. He went to the wall and crouched down, tears falling from his eyes as he covered his ears... it still didn't block out the scream.

Kaito grabbed Conan and dragged him back, even as the boy squirmed. Crouching down, Kaito wrapped his arms around the boy's eyes so he wouldn't see. He'd looked up himself, just as the acid fell.

Hattori screamed but it didn't last long, turning into a gurgled mess of noise before quickly fading completely. Kaito closed his own eyes too late, gasping for breath and trembling as the sight tore away his very sanity. It all seemed too quick before the room was quiet of everything save their shaking breath.

Saguru swallowed, looking towards the other two on the ground ahead of him. "He's... he's dead... right?" He couldn't stop his voice from shaking anymore than his body. Saguru wasn't sure how much acid was in the ceiling and, if it hadn't been enough to kill Hattori... god help them all.

"How should I know?" Kaito shouted angrily, refusing to open his eyes. He felt the bile rise in his throat and picked Conan, turning around so he could open his eyes and move safely around the room. He found the corner and threw up.

Conan was shaking. He couldn't turn around. What had... what had happened? There were tears on the edges of his eyes. Maybe it was the part of him that tried to stop this and wouldn't rest until he knew he had really failed, but while the other boy started heaving, he turned around to look back.

And then he wished he hadn't.

Hattori hadn't fallen, his body still hanging from the cuffs that had held him in place. Most of his skin on his arms, head, and chest was gone, blood spilling from open wounds where his eyes used to be. Conan's mouth opened, making some horrified noise that he couldn't stop once he started.

"I told you not to look." Kaito dragged the boy close to him again, the poor guy screaming. "I- I couldn't let it be both of them." There were tears running down Kaito's face, looking for some kind of redemption for his actions. "I just couldn't."

Saguru crawled on his hands and knees over to the other two. "Kuroba-kun... we should leave..."

Kaito shook his head. "And what if that's what he's waiting for?"

"I'm sure he had all the rooms wired. I don't think it will matter... where we are... and the child... shouldn't be in here." Saguru's arms were shaking trying to hold him up.

Kaito took in a few more unsteady breaths, shaking himself as he nodded. He stood up, the child practically falling out of his weakened grip. He walked out the door, waiting for Hakuba as the got up as if he were a drunk and exited. Kaito reached for the door with closed eyes and shut it, sliding down it once it was closed until he was on the floor. He shook his head violently. "I can't do this! I just can't!"

"Hey," Saguru said with a little more enthusiasm. "I'm not part of this. I don't need to do anything more... right?"


	2. Who Your Loved Ones Are

I tried to make this story more organized and better written than the first chapter.  
>I hope it reads better and, being as it's horror and action and I'm still iffy on how to write this, these chapters will be shorter than most my other stories.<p>

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><p>Chapter 2: Who Your Loved Ones Are<p>

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...

_One thing leads to another as friendship leads to love. Your second trial deals with matters of the heart. How far are you willing to go for what you love and how far are you willing to fall for one you do not?_

Shinichi heard as the voice came out of nowhere. It was definitely electronic and, as he looked, he knew it had to me somewhere nearby. The voice seemed to ignore Hakuba's words and he heard the teen shout a second time.

"I can stay here, right?!"

Shinichi watched Hakuba yell out into the seemingly empty space the voice had come from, the guy clearly scared out of his mind and now Shinichi knew why.

"Oh Kami." His screaming had stopped but he knew he'd never be able to get that image out of his head. He should have listened. He shouldn't have looked. Why had he looked? He was gasping, close to being sick himself. He'd never seen anything like that. He'd faced death, dozens of times and through dozens of means. This wasn't death- this was painful and cruel and so undeniably wrong that part of his mind didn't believe that had actually happened.

_We do not pick our blood but our friends are of our choosing. You're choices lead you here. You must deal with it._

The voice, put through one of the worse quality voice changers he'd ever heard, echoed from further down the stretch of hallway they were in.

_I didn't say how many locks the code would release. Another is already underway and you waste your precious time and something far more precious by standing still._

Hakuba tried to get some of his composure back and Shinichi laughed aloud at that. What a pointless attempt.

"I got to-" Kuroba beside him got up, the link between them around a foot in a half long and tugging his arm up as well from where he was kneeling on the ground.

"No. We're not going anywhere," Shinichi said quietly, attempting to form some type of logical explanation for all of this. "What's going on? Who is this? Why did that happen? Why can't we just leave? I don't see anyone. It's not like they can stop us."

"Can't leave," the teen next to him said quietly. "The doors and windows are blocked, and even if they weren't, if we tried... I doubt we'd make it far. I don't-" the guy trailed off, thinking on something dark enough that he stopped expressing what was on his mind.

"Kuroba-kun... the lock. You should..."

"I know." The other two older-looking teens stared at one another, both knowing what was going on far better than he did by the looks of things.

This was stupid. They should just come out and tell him. Whatever warning they'd been given though, Shinichi wasn't going to just sit around while this mad man did who knows what. He couldn't. He didn't want to think on Hattori. Even the name made him cringe. He swallowed back the bile, walking off and, a few times, having to pull the other teen along with him.

If they weren't going to tell him, fine. He'd find out for himself.

The house they were in looked like whoever it was that was messing with them had built it himself. Shinichi couldn't understand half of how the structure was logical and even less of how all this wood was trapping them. The metal bars were one thing, but wood, if given the right tools, would give.

Then there was another door, much like the first one, red paint across it like blood. The English words were becoming something of a nightmare in and of themselves.

_Learn to trust yourself._

Shinichi reached up but the door was very hard to open at his height and it seemed that there was more than a little rust that made it not want to give. He had to hope it wasn't really locked because, with him tied to the other teen there wasn't much hope of either of them being able to break it down and Hakuba-kun didn't look like he was built for such things.

Kuroba finally reached up and opened it for him, though he didn't push the door open, just turned the knob.

"Wait."

Shinichi waited, looking up at him but all the other teen seemed to be doing was breathing. Something was scaring them both bad and he had a sneaking suspicion on what it was and he really didn't want his thoughts to become truth. After only a few seconds he pushed the door opened anyways and stopped dead in his tracks, the other teen having only taken a step with him, because of the cuffs, before he followed suit.

"Aoko!"

And then Shinichi was dragged inside, the other teen not seeming to care that they were still handcuffed together and there was no way his feet could keep up with Kuroba's longer legs.

The two iron wrought cages in the room were what had first caught Shinichi's attention to begin with. The second had been Ran inside of the one on the left. While Kuroba was frantically reaching in the right one, another girl getting off the ground and more or less trying to touch him through the bars, all Shinichi could do was stare at Ran.

No.

Ran was sitting with her hands folded across her legs and looking back at him, clearly scared and clearly confused. Her mouth was slightly open while she looked at him and he looked back, not having any words to speak to her with. Just no. No. No. No. No. NO! Not Ran. Then again, not Hattori. Not anyone damn it! Shinichi's fist clenched at his side at that thought. Why is all of this happening? Why us and why them? Who is this and what do they want?

'_You had fifteen minutes since the switch was triggered. Now you have a little less then ten. What do hearts really do for us when we don't listen to them, and if we don't listen, why have them to begin with? You'll find what I have provided you with on top of each of the enclosures. A minute before, the bars will open with the key. Do not try and open them any sooner.'_

And then the voice was gone again and Shinichi looked up. There was no way he could reach the top with the other teen cuffed to him and still bending over, speaking and trying to console the other girl inside while she was crying hysterically. Not only that, but her crying was all broken up and sounded funny. Shinichi looked over with narrowed eyes, seeing something in her mouth that was the cause. He'd figured that out in a second once he got whatever it was he needed.

Holding onto the bars he tried to climb up but the other teen made it impossible. This wasn't fair. He wasn't his normal size and, if anything, the cuffs were only handicapping him.

"Hakuba-kun." Shinichi turned to the other teen, indicating upward before he saw the blond take a step back, shaking his head and waving his arms once in front of himself.

"I- I don't want any part of this."

Great. Just great. Shinichi grabbed on the cuff and yanked hard, seeing Kuroba wince and look over at him.

"We can't just sit here. What's up there that we need?" Shinichi looked him in the eye. Kuroba was the only one that could reach it or, at the very least, move his arm so he could get up there himself.

"Aoko. Shh. I'm not going anywhere." Kuroba slowly let go of the girl but Shinichi could see how deep her fingers were going into his arms while he did it. It had to be painful shoving her off like that, but it needed to be done. Though Shinichi didn't think she'd intended it, he looked at the scratch marks she'd left behind while the other teen reached up, putting a key and something that looked a lot like an ink bottle on the floor, going up and grabbing another that he handed over to Shinichi.

The other teen took one looked at it, then at him, then went back to the girl who quickly reaffirmed her hold on him.

Shinichi figured this was something he was supposed to figure out, but why should he help the other teen at all when all he had done was keep information from him and the reason that Hattori wasn't-

Shinichi shook his head. He opened the bottle, sniffing it before shoving it away, using his other hand to rub his nose. "It's acid."

That got Kuroba's attention and the teen looked back at him but Shinichi already had an idea. He just had to be careful. Taking a little bit of it, he poured at little as he could on the hinge where the cuff was, taking in a hissed breath and moving his hand sideways when it touched his skin. He kept his teeth clenched, moving the metal around a little before reapplying it.

Nine minutes was going through his head. He didn't know what it was for but he couldn't do anything handcuffed to this guy. After the forth application he finally got it through to the pivot and took the handcuff apart, freeing himself. There.

Pushing his hand to his pants where it was bleeding, he looked over at Ran. There wasn't much purpose in being anything less than direct.

"What's wrong? What did he-" It didn't have to be a he. "Are you hurt? Is there anything-? What's in your mouth?"

If one girl had it, Ran might have it too. It could be why her mouth was still opened.

Ran shook her head, looking at him and specifically the blood that was there now. She tired to speak but it was hard to hear her, whatever there clearly obscuring her words.

"Lay down and let me see it." Shinichi went on his knees, waiting for Ran. He had a few guesses again and his mind cleared itself of everything except somehow getting her out of there and figuring this out.

Ran listened to him. With all that was going on she actually listened to him as if he actually knew what was going on. She opened her mouth and Shinichi had to get his hands inside the bars to move her lips to get a better look at it.

Kami, what was- It was insane. He backed off, falling on his butt and looking at the acid that was on the floor. No way. He couldn't. But…

He wasn't going to worry the other girl. As completely unfair as the other teen was being, he wasn't going to scare her and have Kuroba get his eyes clawed out.

He leaned close to the bars, Ran sense that he wanted to talk to him. Before he could say a word there was a loud clang and Shinichi looked up, the startling noise coming from somewhere above him.

The cages. There was some large metal platform. It had to have been attached to the top. He hadn't seen it at all. It was moving down now though. Kisama. The time limit was already… why do both?

Then the reason hit him, his eyes wide. Oh no. He looked at the other teen that noticed what was going on too. He was dangerous. Kuroba was now very dangerous. Shinichi had to worry about Ran first though.

"Lay back down. Hurry."

Ran had sat up but she listened to him the instant he had spoken. Shinichi took the jar, trying to stop his hand from shaking. He closed his eyes and took a breath, trying to steady himself as he spoke.

"_Ran, don't get excited. There's something very deadly in your mouth. It's wired to your teeth. I need to find some way to get it off." _And he right then and there thought about trying to pull her teeth out. She'd live and, as painful as it might be, to had to be better than death. The acid was still in his hand and he moved his free one forward, latching onto whatever bomb hidden under the plastic.

"_It's going to hurt_." Shinichi closed his eyes. He could only promise that. He couldn't even promise her life. What kind of- what kind of promise was that? He wasn't physically strong enough to pull it out and, even if he was, the teeth were in there by the roots and it would take a tremendous amount of- He tried not to shake, bringing the bottle of acid forward. If he couldn't get it to eat through the plastic… maybe it could eat through her skin enough that this would be possible.

Shinichi put the acid along the layer of her teeth. With the saliva it was going to spread but there was nothing he could do for her. He winced before it came in contact, trying to be quick as she pulled away on instinct, screaming- or trying to, as he tried to hold on, pulled hard against the bars. She was on her back though and couldn't get far and he didn't lose his grip.

"_Ran, please. Don't move and don't let it get in the back of your throat. Come here_." He tried not to have his words shake but it was hard to keep calm when her blood was already running between his fingertips and she was crying.

He'd have to remove literally with her teeth. Whatever was used to weld it on there, the acid would burn through her skin a lot faster than the metal and plastic. Hitting the plastic in the wrong spot could set off the explosion too, and he didn't know what the makeup of it was, only sure that it was an explosive.

He held his other hand up, far too small for his liking, the bottle shaking slightly in his grasp before he told himself he'd rather have her hurt and bleeding than dead. It was almost enough to detach himself from the situation.

Almost.

Ran screamed and cried some more and he saw her cheek bleed. He had no way of redirection the corrosive acid though

Her pain was his and he knew he couldn't even imagine it. His world was nothing but crying and screaming and tears and red. There was a lot of red.

Blood had never bothered him as much as it did at that moment and this would haunt him long after his days on this earth were over- as short as that future was looking at the moment.

He yanked on the brace, trying to pull it out, watching her jerk slightly and another cry escape.

Even if she'd burned off most of her skin…. He wasn't strong enough to get the thing out. The roots of her teeth were too deep and he just didn't have the strength.

"Hakuba-kun." Shinichi didn't even care that the teenager could only see a child before him, he didn't care how he address him, he didn't care about his lies or anything right now besides Ran. "Come here. I'm can't pull it out."

Hakuba turned his head towards Conan-kun, having been watching Kuroba and Aoko almost numbly instead. He had an idea of what was going on but didn't want to approach and get involved in it. It would only hurt him and he knew mentally he wasn't prepared for this- none of them were. He wasn't the one being ordered around though so it shouldn't be any of his concern… right? If one of them died it was because of their own faults, not his.

The boy's words, and yes, he did know it was a child before him, didn't faze him anymore than Kuroba-kun's would have. He simply shook his head, not ready to fail. Everyone failed. He'd heard of this man and his sick games. There were never any winners. If he was going to die anyway, he wasn't going to have one of their deaths on his conscious.

"Hakuba! I need you right now!" Shinichi wasn't going to be dealing with this. "Just pull this out. I'm not physically strong enough. You don't have to do anything else."

Hakuba looked at the child. He really really didn't want to make this man mad. The more of them there were later too, the worse it would be. It was such an easy request though. He didn't see why he couldn't. It wasn't as if he was asking for the impossible.

Hakuba took a few hesitant steps over before he saw what Conan-kun was doing and what he wanted him to do.

It was as bad as 'pulling teeth' had never been on of his favorite expressions and it wouldn't be any time in the future.

Hakuba held up a hand and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't."

"Get over here and do it!" The seconds were ticking away and Shinichi didn't have enough of his mental facilities to waste on trying to count them.

Hakuba swallowed, taking a step closer that he had retreated. He looked in at Ran-san, seeing all the blood from their struggles before he shook his head again, tears in his eyes and unable to look away. "I just can't do it."

Fine then. Shinichi put his other hand in through the bars, his foot as well. He put it lightly against her forehead. "Ran, I know this hurts but once it's done, that's it. It's all over, okay? So hang in there." He took a better grasp, his hands slick on the blood, moving them around until he got a grip, and pulled again, several times, jerking her head back his harsh, vicious movements, trying to do this is what he counted as one go still.

He just wasn't strong enough through. One of her back teeth he was able to get out but that had been all he'd gotten for his efforts. His hands were shaking bad as he reaffirmed his grip. "I have to do it one at a time. Don't move. Once its out you'll need to bit down on… on my shirt or something." She'd bleed to death otherwise.

Shinichi didn't wait for a nod or any acknowledgment, straining his muscles to their fullest again, , this time focused on one tooth at a time.

Ran screamed, choking on sobs, and writhed under his fingertips. He didn't let up, going so far as to ignore her cries of anguish and get done what needed to be done. He heard a click not long after, when he was nearly halfway through, and looked up to see the large iron top was nearly halfway close to crushing her. The door itself would be blocked in a matter of minutes.

That must mean we have that minute left until it goes off.

Shinichi let go of her, his fingers far too slick for him to pick up the key so he wipped them on his pants without a care, grabbing it and getting the door open. "Ran, out! Now! Hurry and lay back down after!"

Bleeding and physically tormented, he watched Ran turn over, spitting out blood as she crawled through the part of the door that was still open. Off to his side he noticed that Kuroba-kun and the other girl were in each other's arms now, now bars separating them. He didn't know whether the other teen had, or had even tired, freeing the girl of the thing that was going to kill her but he didn't have the time to waste worrying about it.

Ran was on the ground, trying to stifle cries for him. She presented herself readily. Shinichi decided then and there that some part of her either wants to be saved and knows what the situation really was or knew, on some level, who he was and had trust in him.

"Hakuba-kun." Shinichi turned furious eyes on him. "Help me now! We only have a minute!"

Hakuba knew, had been keeping time, but only seeing the child do it first, the time constrains, and the progress he'd already made had the blond teen down on his knees, soaking them with the girls blood as he moved and cradled her had between them.

"I am so very sorry for this." Hakuba took over where the boy had left off, pulling and yanking hard, not worrying about what teeth broke off and which just came free of their metal prison. He had the leverage as well as the strength, fueled by fear, to have the thing off and tossed back in the enclosure after only a few solid tugs. He cradled his bloody hand after, not his own blood, and back away from her.

Shinichi took off his coat and then his shirt, taking the latter in his hand and putting it in her mouth. "Bit down on this and hurry, we have to get away." Shinichi waited until Ran's crying had stopped enough and she was able to breath around his shirt before more or less turning and crawling instead of standing.

That was good enough for him.

Shinichi got her as far away from the cage as possible, the seconds in his head counting down. Only a few left.

He turned to Kuroba… and the teen was still holding the other girl who had been imprisoned. There was no blood, the acid from his share had not been touched, and neither seemed to be seeing anything other than the other in the room.

The other teen looked so dispassionate. He was staring back at the bars, his eyes half closed, and just holding the girl.

"You idiot, get away from her!" He hadn't gotten rid of the explosive. If it was still in her mouth there was a good chance he'd be killed. Shinichi, going against all logic, got up and pulled on the other teen's half of the cuff that was still around his wrist. "You have to move!"

Kuroba turned his eyes for a moment to him and did what Shinichi though that even he wouldn't be able to do for a while, maybe even years after this.

He smiled.

It was a gentle kind of smile that told the young detective that the other teen knew exactly what he was doing and nothing was going to sway him from his path. Anything- Shinichi would have given anything to be his own age again. He could have pulled him away then, talked some sense into and backed him down from these suicidal actions.

But there just wasn't time and Ran was too out of it. He was barely able to take a step back before his eyes closed against the noise of both blast- one in front of him and the other off to his side where Ran had been not minutes before.


	3. Who Your Family Is

**UPDATE**: I have no idea why it decided to not have paragraphs for half the chapter. I manually went back and fixed it but as I did it took all my italics away. I put some back but if some are missing... that's why

I opened my laptop to write something else... Then I opened this story for no reason and couldn't stop typing. This one isn't nearly as graphic as teh other chapters for reasons that the character are wising up to what they look at.

So yeah... update for this story, though it hadn't been the one I'd been trying to update. Also, still no spell checker and it's kind of hard to reread this stuff, so there might be more than a few errors.

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><p>Chapter 3: Who Your Family Is<p>

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"Don't look." Shinichi had no idea what the explosion had resulted in though he covered Ran's eyes. There was enough horror as it was and he wasn't going to look either. Maybe. He had to deal with Ran first. The acid had burned through a large part of her cheek and already his shirt was stained through between her teeth. She was crying hysterically.

It was painful and horrifying. There was no way she wouldn't be crying.

He had to get her out of the room first. He looked over at the open door, seeing droplets of blood on the floor. With his hand hiding her view as much as he could before she turned, he tried to help her to the door. "Come on. We'll get you help." Somehow.

Shinichi couldn't really move her out of the room. He didn't have the strength as a child and, even if he did, wounded and crying, Ran wouldn't have gotten far. He couldn't do much explaining to her either, considering he was just as confused as she was. One good thing, he had her. She was bleeding and hurt and crying – but he had her. She was here and alive.

For now.

She was still bleeding and he had to find a way to stop that. It was pretty bad though he was somewhat certain she'd be fine for a few hours. It took him a while to notice that Hakuba-kun wasn't near him anymore. He'd helped, somewhat. Since he couldn't see him the only other place he could be was behind him and Shinichi didn't know if he wanted to turn around.

"We have to get out of here," he spoke. He wasn't about to leave him behind. He might not have explained anything more than the other teen had to him, but he was here and he was in danger as well and if Shinichi could get him out too, he would.

"Give me a minute." The words came back to him, quiet and the speaker obviously very disturbed. They were also somewhere near where the other two teens had been before Shinichi had turned away and he had no plans on looking back.

Curiosity was a damn thing. He couldn't help it. After hearing this or that shift and no noise following what was likely material, he had to see what had happened.

The girl hadn't had a chance. She was very much dead, though Shinichi could only really tell that because of the blood. Any wounds that had resulted were hiding behind the other teen who was still handcuffed to nothing, holding her and too much gore to do more than tell that there likely hadn't been much pain before she died. That had to be something. The fact that the first teen was still alive was something else. He'd been holding her.

Hakuba-kun had taken what must have been the coat he had been wearing when he was kidnapped off and was pressing it towards the dark haired teen, though Shinichi wasn't wholly sure why. They were all just sitting there, comforting, trying to be comforted, or in shock.

Shinichi was the one who got it together first. He nudged Ran, trying to have her keep some of her shirt sleeve in her mouth and keep pressure on it. The bleeding should stop, or at least slow. It had to be painful but he had nothing for her. "We have to get going. We don't know what else he's planning and if he has others in conditions like this, we have to get them out."

Neither of the other teens said a thing but Hakuba-kun did look up at him. He looked back at the other teen before settling, seeming to want to go where the other went. That didn't help him. Ran wouldn't be able to do much and it was clear there were likely going to be at least two people, one for each of them, in whatever the next room was. He couldn't go with just her alone.

"Snap him out of it. We have to go." He had to have known what was going to happen. He hadn't chose to help, or couldn't. That wasn't Shinichi's fault and he wasn't going to let others die because of it.

"I- I'm not sure how far he can. Kuroba-kun," Hakuba said as he shook him a bit. "He is right. We have to go. You know that. I- I just want to get out of here."

Shinichi watched as Kuroba let go of the girl, moving his hand, covered in blood and who knew what else, to his shoulder to hold the coat where it was. "Let's go then." His words sounded terrible, like he'd been smoking for years and had only just been hit with the effects of it.

He was able to see why when the teen turned. Not all of the blood was from the girl. Hers had dried on him a bit, dark and obvious across near all of his shirt. Fresh, bright red blood was falling down from his throat and re-staining the collar of his shirt. Half of the teens face was also covered with red, angry marks, some skin missing where it was simply torn away, his left eye closed and blood falling out of it.

Hakuba was right, the teen likely wouldn't make it far if they didn't find help. It was not only the physical. In the one blue eye that was open, there was noting - just a dull expression of someone who had lost everything.

Shinichi hadn't, not yet, and he wasn't giving up. Both the other two were standing and he was ready to go now. He helped Ran, though the sight must have gotten to her to. She had tears falling down her eyes though her mouth was closed and blocked off most of the stifled cries. She was at long last able to stand though, and Shinichi didn't let go of her hand as he walked out of the room, the other two kind of behind him.

He didn't know how much more of this he could take either. He was growing angry though, disgusted far worse than he'd ever been before. This man was going to pay if it was the last thing he did.

_Learn to believe yourself_

Shinichi wasn't too happy to see the words again. He looked at the door, wondering if he should leave Ran behind. The more people in there, the more that everyone would have to see, be exposed to whatever sick game this was.

If he left her out here though and ended up needing her help, as Hakuba didn't seem to be very reliable, he might end up regretting it.

In the end, Kuroba just grabbed the door with very little hesitation this time and opened it.

There was a metal floor that clanked beneath the teen's feet as he stepped out onto it. The wood from the structure of the building they were in left with the hall, the walls around them equally as cold and stark as the floor. Half of the floor. The other half was water and, in the distance, Shinichi found it hard to tell what the black things swimming around in the depths of it were, though it was easy enough to guess since their tormentor had been hind enough to put some lighting in the water and very little above.

Above the room were two cages hung high enough that he couldn't see who was in them. There were large metal bars that maybe he himself would be able to fit through, but no one else. With the angle so off though, he knew that judgment could be incorrect.

They clanged and lowered a few feet but that didn't help the view much.

_It seems we're falling short on our number of players. Better stay with the game. Once you lose there's no going back. Life isn't so easy. You're faced with a new issue. Father figures come and go but how easy it is to lie to those closest to you. How much they have helped and in return they get deceit. It is such a decrepit trait. Now to see where those lies got you. Question and answer shouldn't be so hard. Three for three. You answer one right, and then in turn. Get four out of the six and they go free. Fail, and it's game over._

The cages clanked once more, drawing them down slightly and closer to the opposite wall where they hit into, jarring both occupants. Shinichi didn't need Ran's mumbled words to see Mouri as he rubbed his head, swearing as he woke from what was, for the first time, not a hangover.

"Don't move." Shinichi didn't know what would happen if they tried to break out. It would, in essence, be breaking the rules of this game even if none had been stated. He was a little surprised to see Nakamori-keibu grow still and follow his instructions before occhan. Then the pieces fell together and it didn't take anymore for him to guess who he was playing this game with. There really couldn't be any other. And that made this all the worse. He would never be able to rely on him for this. A pacifist here was the worst he could have hoped for, and yet it was what he was stuck with.

_Question one goes to the players. All I ask is for a birthday._

Shinichi had that easy. Ran always went out of her way to celebrate her dad's birthday. Kuroba answered before him and the cage stayed in placed. Shinichi held his breath, wondering if, answering second, there'd be some type of penalty. There wasn't and he let it out, his heart rate slowing. "February twenty-first."

"Very good. The next goes to the other team. For your player, give their birthday."

Nakamori-keibu answered first, as Kuroba had and Shinichi had to swallow. He didn't even have a fake birthday for 'Conan', not that occhan had ever asked. Now that he thought about it, Ran never had either.

"How the hell should I know when the brat's birthday is? Who are you?"

"Mouri-san," Nakamori spoke calmly and raised a hand to his lips. "Try and answer. A guess is better than none and it's still a chance. Unfortunately," Shinichi watched as his eyes traveled to them, and to Kuroba in particular who stared back with the same blank expression, as if watching someone fall to their death was an everyday occurrence. "Something very wrong is going on. It seems important that we answer."

"As if I know though." Mouri looked at him and Shinichi had to hope that, at the very least, he would guess his own birthday. He didn't think the man knew that either though, even if he'd come as Kudo Shinichi.

"As if this is fair. He wouldn't know my birthday anyway." Shinichi spoke to the room, wondering how the man was watching since he still didn't see any cameras.

_Five minutes per question now._

Shinichi bared his teeth, seeing Ran fall to her knees beside him, crying and trying to stifle it, even with the cloth. It was enough to get Mouri's attention, since he must not have noticed the condition she was in.

"What the hell did you do to my daughter?!"

"Shut up!"

All eyes turned to Kuroba when he shouted, the word costing him as he pushed the jacket more towards his throat, swallowing hard and having to breath just as difficulty after. "Just shut up and answer. I can't take this. If you know you know, if you don't, a few minutes more of life won't help any of us."

That let the gravity sink in to those it hadn't already and Mouri leaned back in the cage he was in. Cages seemed to be the theme of the day, though he had to suppose even if they weren't in them the swim was impossible to make.

"Damn it, kid. When the hell is your birthday." Mouri ran a hand through his hair and Shinichi could only watch. He didn't want to know what would happen if he gave the answer away.

"You and that detective geek. You said something, at some point, to Ran. That would be my guess but I can't remember what you said." Mouri let out a breath and relaxed. "Damn it, I have no idea. March eleventh."

The cage clanked and fell five feet and Shinichi had to wince at the sound. He was sure he could get the next two of his, but he wasn't sure if Mouri could get his two. One more wrong answer was all they could afford. Ran grabbed his arm from next to him and it easily made him tense up again.

_Second question. Players first. Their main job or pastime that they consider similar to one._

"These questions are clearly aimed at them and not us," Shinichi heard Kuroba speak, knowing why he chose now to, considering the question. "Police Inspector."

"Private detective," Shinichi answered right back, not caring that he answered second again. He wasn't in the mood for beating the other and right now they each had five minutes to answer.

"The little brat thinks he's a detective. So I guess detective." The cage didn't move and Shinichi let in another held in breath, half afraid Mouri would try to be funny and say something else.

"I'd say high-schooler but I'm not sure if that counts as a 'job' and you're hinting at something else so the best I can go with is magician."

The other cage fell besides Mouri's and he watched Nakamori-keibu swear inside and rub the back of his head. Because he'd been watching him, Shinichi noticed Kuroba wince, the first expression from him in a while.

"That answer wasn't necessarily wrong but I'm sure arguing with you won't do any good."

There was silence. Unless they both got this next one wrong the people inside would be free to go and Shinichi was confident enough that he wouldn't miss it. There wasn't much he didn't know about Mouri at this point.

_Last question. Who is the person they look up to the most?_

His confidence faltered a little. Mouri didn't seem to have anyone he admired in a job sense. And even then the choices he had to work with were kind of dicey. Kuroba didn't speak up right away either so it was clear they were both thinking.

"I'm sorry occhan, I have no idea. Okino Youko?"

The cage fell and Shinichi winced as well. Damn it, that was way too close. It was just hovering over the water now and he watched the small, dark fish trying to jump up at him. He stood instead of sitting, both of them seeing that that was a bad idea.

Mouri's turn would come after. First Kuroba had to guess and all eyes were on the other teen as he thought, every not and then and expression of complete weariness coming over him that Shinichi thought he might just fall over instead of answering.

"Ojisan, you never really told me anything like that. If I had to guess though, I would say you don't have one. You just try to be the person you want to be."

Nakamori-keibu held on tight as his cage fell the feet toward the water as well. Inside it though, the inspector was smiling. "Don't worry, I wasn't expecting you to get that. Kuroba Toichi."

The cage stayed where it was a few seconds before moving, the bar keeping to closed releasing as it drew close enough to the edge to make it a pathway from the cage to the metal floor. The inspector stepped out and went over to Kuroba, holding him and being careful of his terrible injuries. "Kami, what happened to you? You look like hell."

Whatever was holding the other teen together fell at that point and Shinichi could hear him crying as he collapsed, all the strength in him gone.

Shinichi looked over at Mouri where he still seemed to be deciding. There was no way he didn't know this. There couldn't be. He wasn't that dense.

"Damn it, you little brat. I have two answers for that and they're pretty much the same answers but different." Mouri paced around, eyeing the fish. Shinichi realized at that point what the problem was.

All those times of saying 'Shinichi-niichan' told me came back to him and he had to let out a breath, a pleading look on his face. Ran couldn't lose her dad, not because of him. He had to guess right. Please.

Mouri nearly used of his five minutes thinking before he stopped. "I guess this is a fifty-fifty chance, which is better than guessing your damn birthday. But if something happens and I'm wrong, whatever's going on, look out for Ran."

Shinichi nodded. It was all he could do to help.

"Damn, I wish I at least had a cigarette for this." It was obvious he was stalling, still not sure on his answer.

Then Shinichi heard his name and, since he knew the answer was wrong, he turned Ran to the side, holding her down as best he could while the chain rattled and fell. He closed his eyes too and turned away, feeling hurt and more than a little like he'd lead Mouri to his death, even if it hadn't been in the way he thought he would. He didn't look back as he heard the water that was trapped under the lid escape the cage as it sank. No more. He knew he had no hope of moving Ran as she sobbed even more uncontrollably than before, clinging to him and trying to look, making him fight her all the way.

It felt like forever before there was a hand on her shoulder, Shinichi feeling it because it forced him to move as well. Nakamori-keibu had blood on him but his eyes were strong and determined. "Come on, both of you. Let's get out of this room. I want you to tell me what's going on after."

Shinichi frowned a moment, assuming the others would have. When he turned to look though, Kuroba seemed to be passed out, his skin very white against the deep red blood that still fell from his open wounds. They were dressed better, the jacket having been cut up and put in place where it wouldn't need to be held.

Hakuba-kun. Shinichi didn't know what was wrong with him. He was against the wall, sitting there with his hands pressed into his eyes and looking like he was talking to himself.

Shinichi nodded, letting go of Ran to him. _"Please get her out first_."

Nakamori-keibu looked like he thought about it, seeing him as a child and debating to himself. It didn't take him long though as he put his arms around her and carried Ran out instead of trying to get her to walk. Shinichi waited where his eyes, eyes on the door as he left with her. He looked briefly back at the other two before deciding to go over to Kuroba.

It didn't take much prodding to know that the reason he hadn't opened his eyes was to stop the blood flow. It was severely damaged and would likely keep bleeding, even if there was something there to stop it. The fact that he still had his eyelid meant that something had likely flown into it and down the damage, only marring the lower one slightly.

The neck wound was serious. He couldn't have hit any major blood vassals or he'd already be dead, but that didn't mean it wouldn't kill him soon enough, long before they got out of here if this took too long. Ran wasn't much different, though it was very obvious which was in worse shape. If Nakamori-keibu or Hakuba-kun couldn't play some sort of tag-in game on their side, odds were that a few more people would die, and not because they didn't try.

Nakamori-keibu came back and carried Kuroba as Shinichi followed him out, looking back at Hakuba-kun. He wasn't hurt very badly but his shoulder still looked ugly. It likely had been hurting him but he hadn't said anything. Considering the wounds all around, it was no wonder. That didn't mean he could just sit there and act like some sort of child when others were in danger.

Shinichi's fist clenched at his side. It bothered him, a lot. Mouri didn't die for nothing, and like hell if he was going to let the others that were here, or could be here, die like that. He stopped before he reached the door and went over to him, punching Hakuba-kun in the face.

"Get it together or get the hell out of here. If you're going to follow us, help us. If you're going to burden us, go wait somewhere else and we'll get you _if_ we get out of this alive. Right now your moping isn't doing any of us any good and you have a friend right there, near dead as it is, trying harder than you are."

Hakuba-kun stared up at him in shock but there was no light of recognition. All he did was nod and stand, very slowly as if he were forcing himself to. "Right, we need to go. I'm- I'm not going to be alone. Not here."

"Then help."

"I can't." Hakuba looked down at him. "I just- I can't. I can't do the things that he can, I never could. I'm not that kind of person. I can't handle this. This- this isn't my fault. It's his, right? We're here because we know him. He saved me, and I'm grateful, but there's nothing I can do."

Shinichi let out a sigh and walked out. As long as he was following and not getting in the way, there was no harm in taking him. That didn't mean he was happy about it. Hakuba had to get himself together. Right now, he was worried even the inspector wouldn't be enough to keep this group sane.

At points, Shinichi wasn't even sure if he was still in that category himself.


End file.
